Every morning, Erin walks our mascot, Riley, to the bottom of the street, where they join up with buddy Dave and his two canine clowns, Buck and London. Dave uses the word ‘Weebles’ to describe wobbly ideas: like Ranch dressing in a squirt can…
Flip Whip: Creamy Ranch Dip/Dressing in a pressurized can: A good
idea whose stewardship could use some closer attention…
Not long ago I posted about the death of creativity in the ‘spicy’ movement. I lamented the fact that food processors and menu item inventors have reached a point where they’re adding Chili to foods whether or not those foods are complementary to heat. It’s a classic case of Yes, Prime Minister logic (I paraphrase):
“It’s a disaster!”
“Something must be done!”
“This is something…”
“Then we must do it!”
The latest nutty idea
The latest nutty idea to cross my workstation is ‘Whipped Ranch and Dressing’ in a pressurized squirt can. Just like shake-and-squirt whipped cream. And it’s not bad enough that the stuff is being promoted like the canned cream was when it first appeared in the 1950s. Canned ‘squirtable’ Ranch is also being hailed as the latest fun and convenient product.
Furthermore, Flip Whip, from Alamance Foods, is already available in 2 flavours: Original and Bleu Cheese. That’s an expression of confidence we rarely see in a marketplace jammed with with relentless new product launches. Especially one that’s apparently being sold at one small retail chain with fewer than 20, locations in Wisconsin and Illinois. But I’ll qualify that with a big ‘kudos’ to little guys like Alamance who have big, bold ideas they’re willing to stand behind!
My take
I have a few observations to make. Some are a little negative, but I don’t mean to be picky or nasty, nor do I wish Alamance to fail with Flip Whip. But I do think the folks at the plant should at least consider the following points:
First: if I was them, I’d be rushing to get the stuff on Amazon and/or their own e-commerce web page. It would be all too easy to add a retailing page to their existing Flip Whip site. And that would not only get new customers to try the stuff, it would also make potential new bricks-and-mortar retail partners aware of the opportunity.
Second: if Alamance is concerned about their product (which needs to be refrigerated), spoiling during shipping, they need only check out what other food e-retailers are doing to keep their shipments fresh. Nothing says they have to ship single cans, if the packaging and shipping costs would be prohibitive. Would shipping only 3- or 6-packs make the idea economically feasible?
Third: I applaud the notion of packaging the whipped product in what amounts to Alamance’s existing Whipped Cream cans. It would keep the packaging equipment working and productive, helping pay off what was undoubtedly a high-capital cost investment. But folks are bound to confuse the Ranch with Whipped Cream in the dairy case. At least first…
Fourth: I have suspicion that banking and investment types would consider Flip Whip under-capitalized. as it stands now. Hard to get expansion funds for what could just be as big a deal as Alamance obviously thinks it can be. And I think it does have the potential to go viral in the Snacks space.
Enter the Weebles…
Dave would probably react to Flip Whip by saying: “A Weeble will wobble, but it won’t fall down!” Meaning that, as a Weeble, the idea has potential, but there are still some critical marketing and production issues that need to be resolved. And the sooner the better.
The most glaring omission I see, looking at the Flip Whip packaging and website, is that nowhere is any mention that any patents are pending. The name is apparently trade-marked, but that doesn’t protect the product concept. Alamance should be wasting no time protecting its ‘invention’ from the big, national brands, which could steal it out from under them tomorrow and make the killing Flip Whip might just become…
~ Maggie J.